The Saga of the Bucket Hat
by emotionless-robot
Summary: TK and his hat have shared some good times together, and despite what everyone thinks, it is more than just a silly white hat... isn't it?


Here is a challenge I got from SugarSpiral. I made it as comical as possible, even though TK is a bit OOC. I decided to make TK have a different dad than Matt too - it just worked out better that way. Hope you like it!!

**Title: **The Saga of The Bucket Hat.  
**Main Characters: **TK, Davis, Ken and Cody.  
**Pairings: **You decide.  
**Plot Brief: **TK is sulking because Kari teased him all day about his 'Bucket Hat'. TK doesn't think she understands why he cannot possibly give it up. The guys a curious, and TK explains all the sentimental times he and the hat shared.  
**Phrase to Include: **"Wow TK, you're more attached to that hat than this gum is to my shoe!"

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TK gladly accepted the nachos smothered in cheese that Davis handed to him. Who said comfort food was only for girls, anyways? He wanted some solace and if nachos were what it took to give him that feeling, then so be it. He sighed, weary and misunderstood. Because that was what he was – misunderstood, and by his _best friend_ no less. She just didn't get it – his hat was more than just _a hat_, it was a part of him. His inanimate confidante, to an extent. They had shared a lot together, TK and his hat. Kari had her little diary to write about her life and problems, and TK had something else. It wasn't a hard concept to grasp.

And now here he was, hanging out with the guys, chilling and eating nachos, and playing violent video games. Davis and Ken were currently engaged in a fight on the screen; and Cody had opted to finish up what homework he had, leaving TK alone with his depressing thoughts, flopped down on the bed, sighing every few moments in unhappiness.

Finally, Cody couldn't take it anymore. "What's wrong, TK?" he said, concerned.

"Oh, nothing. You wouldn't understand." TK rolled over, turning his back on Cody.

"Humour me." stated the green-eyed kid.

"Well, it's just… it's Kari."

The mention of his potential soul mate tore Davis's eyes from the screen. "What about her? Is she hurt? Did you two have a fight? Maybe she needs some comforting. I'll bet she's really upset. I'd better go see her, just to make sure." He stood up, ready to leave, but Ken yanked on his shirt until he fell to the ground with a **THUMP**!

"No one's going anywhere until you tell us what's wrong." Ken declared majestically.

"Well, it's just that Kari was making fun of my hat… again."

"So what? I make fun of your hat all the time." Davis pointed out.

"I know, but I don't care what you think, Davis. And besides, I wouldn't expect any of you to know how that makes me feel. None of you have a hat like I do."

"That's because we're not freaks." Davis said with a mouthful of popcorn.

TK scoffed and replied, "This hat has been through a lot with me. I couldn't even name all the good times we've had together."

"Why don't you tell us some of them?" Cody suggested. "You say we don't know – then tell us. It's the only way we'll understand what you're going through."

Ken nodded his approval and shut off the game system, turning his full attention to TK, much to the displeasure of Davis.

"Hey! What was that for? I was beating you big time!"

Davis's cries were ignored and TK sat up, ready to begin his tale.

"I suppose I'll start out with how I found this hat. That was one of the best days of my life. It started out during the summer a few years ago. My mom had just gotten a promotion at work, and she had broken open the wine bottle. So, she was a little bit tipsy at that point. It was funny though – I've never seen her act so… carefree. Anyways, she started talking about my real dad, and mentioned a fact about him that I didn't know."

The three boys leaned in, not knowing what to expect, seeing as how TK had never mentioned his real dad before now.

"She said…" TK gulped. "She said he had premature balding!" he blurted out the horrid fact with a groan and covered his face in his hands. "Then the night took a turn for the worse. Premature balding was _not_ something I wanted to have. It was terrifying, imagining myself bald, barely twenty, living in a dump because no one would hire a hairless boy."

TK's voice grew alarmed as he continued. "I just couldn't take it. Those images haunted me all night long, showing up in my nightmares and appearing in the shadows of my room. So, in the morning I had a mission: find a way to prevent this potential catastrophe. I looked around the city all day long, but I couldn't find _anything_! It was so frustrating and it seemed hopeless. And then… I saw the light. I passed by a hat shop without a second glance, but as I kept on walking on without a solution, I recognized that I didn't have to come up with a resolution until later. It hadn't happened yet, right? So, until then, I could just cover it up until it actually happened and I had an answer to patch it up. Since then, my buddy and I have been inseparable."

TK patted his hat lovingly, cooing softly.

"Well, that's… interesting." Cody said, amazed. "Wow, TK, you're more attached to that hat than this gum is to my shoe! Is there another story you wanted to tell us?"

"Sure. Hmm, let's see. There was that one time… no, not that one. OH! I'll tell you about the time Matt dyed my hair pink!"

Bits of potato chips fell out of Davis's mouth.

"I had just gotten back from a basketball game, and I was pretty tired. Matt was over visiting, because he wanted to spend time together or something, but I was excessively exhausted, so I went to go take a nap. I was asleep within _seconds_. I guess Matt didn't like being blown off like that, so while I was practically unconscious, he dyed my hair bright pink… with orange highlights. It looked _bad_. I tried washing it out, and I even debated shaving all my hair off, but then I grasped the full potential of my wondrous hat. I kept it on all the time, until the dye at long last faded away, and nobody ever found out."

TK was very proud of himself for getting away with that deception spot-free. Oh, the power of a hat. What other tale of victory could he tell them? There were so many…

"And that other time, when I thought I had lost it. What a horrible day! I had been so busy, rushing around, trying to get all my chores and homework done before my mom got home, and in the mess, I somehow forgot where I had left my hat. Once I figured this out, it was too late at night to do anything but wait until the next morning and hope it showed up. It was a bad night. I tossed, and I turned, and I just couldn't seem to forget about it, no matter how loud I turned up my music, or how long I concentrated on algebraic formulas. It was a hopeless task."

TK sighed, weary, remembering the ghastly events of that night.

"Somehow, I made it to morning unscathed. And then the disaster began. I started retracing my steps, and looking behind the cushions on the couch, you know, the usual places… by the time I was done tearing through the apartment, it was in shambles, and thankfully my mom wasn't there, otherwise she would have had a cow!"

"A cow?" Davis mouthed to Ken, confused, and Ken shrugged, not knowing the answer either.

"I had pretty much given up by then. I had huge bags under my eyes, my stomach refused to stop growling because I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and I smelt _bad_… I felt like I was missing something, some clue to the puzzle, but I just could not figure it out. So, naturally, I gave up. I called it a day, and decided to at least get some more sleep. And then as I walked into my room, past my mirror, I saw it! It had been on my head THE WHOLE TIME!!"

TK grinned excitedly and patted his cap some more, chuckling to himself like a madman.

"I fail to see the humour in that, but carry on." Cody voiced.

"And then, all the other good times, too many to name individually. The times when we would go to the park and play in the sandbox, not to mention all the food we've consumed together…" TK faded out wistfully.

"He talks as though it's an actual human being." Cody whispered. "Do you think we should, I don't know… slap him or something?"

"Okay." Davis agreed hastily and stood up to get a good shot at the boy. He was yanked down by Ken – once again.

"He doesn't need that right _now_, Davis. Later, when he starts tying it up on a leash and taking it for walks. Right now, we should just be supportive."

Davis's expression moulded into a longing look that rivalled TK's. Ken ignored this and asked gently, "TK? What did Kari say to make you so upset?"

TK turned his head away sharply and said in a breaking voice, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Please?" Cody pleaded, using the full force of his persuasive green eyes.

"She said… she said that I should get a new hat!!" TK wailed slightly on the last word, and buried his face in the fluffy pillow he had been clutching tightly for the past few moments. "She thinks that this one is getting too old and ratty – even though she _knows_ I have seven of them, and I bleach them on a regular basis. She doesn't _understand_ the significance of _this _hat. It's my one and only…" Tears formed at the corners of TK's wounded blue eyes, and his bottom lip trembled like a leaf in the wind.

"Come on! Pull yourself together, man! You're acting like a girl! No, worse – you're acting like YOLEI!" Davis handed out the worst insult any guy could ever receive with disdain (had it really come to this?) "You need to honour the Man Code, and suck it up like a tough guy. No matter how much mean words hurt, you can't let it bug you, because if you do…" Davis's own voice and lip shook slightly, as if remembering one of his own weak moments, once upon a time. "If you do, you will get beaten to a bloody pulp. You. Do. Not. Want. That. So, are we clear?"

TK nodded, strengthened by Davis's brave and wise words.

"Good. Now that that's all sorted out, can I _please_ get back to kicking Ken at that game? I was beating him by one point, you know. I highly doubt any of _you_ wimps could do that." Davis snickered, and proceeded to lose to Ken – by one point, ironically.

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Reviews are appreciated. Thanks!


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